Author Topic: System Restore... or is it? (Read 403 times)

Dux · « **on:** August 30, 2004, 12:35:48 PM »

I've been having an interesting past week, replacing a fried HD, installing a new one, formatting, and installing Windows XP. At one point, I tried to fix some seriously messed-up Internet settings by rolling it back to an earlier restore point. But all the settings and related problems did not get rolled back.

Which brings up the question... what exactly is it restoring?

Blooz · « **Reply #1 on:** August 30, 2004, 01:29:47 PM »

WinXP System Restore takes a "snapshot " of your system at a given time (at installation and at any time you update a restore point).

It makes a backup of all the system files and settings so you can revert to that if things go bad down the road.

When you re installed WinXP on a new drive you started all over again from scratch.

Once you get things set up the way you want it go to System Restore in the Control Panel and set a new restore point. Anytime you change your system and its working well, create a new restore point .

Dux · « **Reply #2 on:** August 30, 2004, 02:12:27 PM »

Maybe I didn't explain it properly...

After formatting the new drive and installing XP, I installed my ATI drivers and then I made a restore point.

Then I went about setting up the rest of the computer and really did a horrible mess of the internet settings. I figured I could spend the next 3 days figuring it out, or just do a restore and quickly do it over again... but the restore did not really set it back to where those settings were "untouched".

My point is, it didn't really seem to restore anything. Perhaps I did it wrong... but I doubt it, all you do is pick a restore point and say "go".

Just curious, that's all.

214thCavalier · « **Reply #3 on:** August 30, 2004, 02:55:17 PM »

Had a similar problem also with internet settings screwed.
Got around it by booting into safe mode and logging in as the safe mode administrator, then deleting my normal logon admin account.
Remade a normal admin logon and rebooted, everything was back to normal.
Seem to recall i turned off system restore and then enabled it afterwards again just to make sure i dumped the screwed settings.

Blooz · « **Reply #4 on:** August 30, 2004, 04:31:19 PM »

Cavalier is correct. If System Restore fails try it from "safe mode".

System Restore also makes a new restore points automatically each time software or hardware is added. It could be that your selected restore point wasn't far enough back to "undo" all your changes.

Personally, I've never had to use it yet. I can only hope that if I ever do that it will work.

C'est la vie, I reckon.

llama · « **Reply #5 on:** August 30, 2004, 05:20:36 PM »

Though I have had System Restore work some of the time, it is generally so unreliable that I have a hard time actually counting on it to work right when I really need it to.

A much more reliable, though manual, system is to use Norton Ghost and either a second hard drive, or a second partition. Then I just make a Ghost copy of the System drive/partitioin before I do any major changes or try new software, or once a month. It takes less than 10 minutes, and if you like, you can burn CDs or DVDs with it or a permanent archive.

Let me tell you, as a professional software reviewer, Ghost makes rolling your computer back to an earlier version fast and simple, and very reliable.

-Llama

Schutt · « **Reply #6 on:** August 31, 2004, 02:25:12 AM »

Not sure but it might be the system restore does not consider your network "SETTINGS" a change to system files since no drivers/hw/sw/installation is changed.

I think when messing up the network settings deleting all network conections/dial ups will give you a start from 0.

The settings itself depend on your situation, so easiest most of the time is to have a friend who knows how to do it to come over and set it up.

ciao schutt